Finding New Bandmates or Collaborators

Whether you’ve been isolating for a couple of years due to the pandemic, or you’ve just always worked alone, now may be a great time to find some new blood to work with. Maybe you’d like to start or refresh a live band, collaborate on some tracks with other producer/musicians, or do a featured performance on an artist’s next hit.

Whatever the case, you’ve got to find the people first. Fortunately, that’s doable. Here are some tips for finding the right teammates for your next project.

Get Clear

Before you start, it’s helpful if to be clear what you’re looking for – and what you’re not looking for. Sure, it’s great to have an open mind, but if what you really want is a guitar playing friend who never sings and likes the same kind of pizza as you, better to understand that about yourself first, before you spend two months fighting with somebody about who gets to sing and eating anchovies.

Get Out

First and foremost, human relationships are still easier to build in person. When you get out and see musicians and meet new people, your chances of finding good collaborators are better. Try attending local live shows (but don’t outright steal other bands’ players), industry meet and greets, studios (another reason to get to your session early), and even music stores. It doesn’t matter where you meet other musicians really – just go where they are.

Post a Notice

The old school, tried and true method of posting (and/or responding to) flyers on bulletin boards still works amazingly well, especially when trying to find live players and band members. Make up a flyer, be clear and concise, and when you post it, peruse the fliers to see if anyone is looking for a group to join. Music stores are still a great place to find bulletin boards, as well as university music departments.

Take a Class

This is good advice in general but taking a music or production course is a great way to find like-minded musicians. You can do this in person or even join an online class with a community aspect like Facebook groups. Put it out there that you’re looking to collaborate.

Use Web Resources

If you’re not meeting the right folk organically, there are plenty of resources online you can use to post and look for notices. The old standby, Craigslist, is still a viable option in many towns, Reddit has many subgroups dedicated to musician searches, and many others are just a few of the sites purpose-built for either online collaboration, online jamming, or connecting musicians for live playing.

Communicate and Ask Questions

It’s really not that hard to find musicians who want collaborate. The tricky part is getting on the same page and avoiding those uncomfortable sessions and dysfunctional relationships we’ve all had at one time or another. The key is to get to know people before jumping into a project. Just like dating, know what you want, ask plenty of questions, and be honest. There’s no reason to pretend to be something you’re not in order to score a great player, only to later find yourself wishing you could just be yourself.

There’s nothing more satisfying in music than the magic of playing and creating with other people. Finding them isn’t rocket science, it just takes a little patience. There’s never been a better time to start.

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